Sixth night of protests strike East Bay

The 12th Street and Lake Merritt BART stations in Oakland reopened after closing late Wednesday night due to civil disturbances, according to BART officials.

The stations were closed due to disturbances during ongoing protests in Oakland and surrounding areas. The Ashby BART station was also closed Wednesday after a march began in Berkeley but has since reopened.

Oakland police have estimated that around 150 to 175 protesters marched into the city after starting at Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley this evening around 7 p.m.

Before reaching Oakland, the group entered the University of California at Berkeley campus and shut down a talk at Wheeler Hall by PayPal co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

The crowd attending the event greeted the protesters with a chant of “Go home!” and shouted at them to leave but the event was ultimately shut down. At least one arrest appears to have occurred outside Wheeler Hall.

The group marched through city streets and into Oakland, gathering around 14th Street and Broadway. A few protesters threw rocks and broke windows on at least one business, a T-Mobile store.

One Oakland police official, Lt. Chris Bolton, said on social media that officers are moving in to make stops and arrests where possible. Police have ordered protesters at the scene to get off the streets.

Tonight’s march is the sixth in as many days. Protestors, marching in response to grand jury decisions in New York and Missouri declining to charge police offices in the deaths of two unarmed black men, have taken over East Bay freeways, shut down BART stations, damaged businesses and tied up traffic in Oakland, Emeryville and Berkeley multiple times this week.

Berkeley High School students this afternoon also led a school walk out, march and die-in on the University of California at Berkeley campus. Some protestors who took part in both events say they have been marching since around 2:30 p.m. today.

Berkeley police said Wednesday they have arrested 27 people at a series of protests over the past few days. Protestors have taken over East Bay freeways, shut down BART stations, damaged businesses and tied up traffic in Oakland, Emeryville and Berkeley multiple times this week.

A small number of protestors have thrown objects including rocks, bottles, a crowbar, a bag of gravel at officers, Berkeley police said. More than 13 Berkeley officers have been injured over the past four days, three of who required treatment in a hospital, police said.

Multiple law enforcement agencies have responded to the protests, and tear gas, batons and less-lethal projectiles including rubber bullets and bean bags have been used protestors, On Monday alone, the California Highway Patrol arrested more than 150 demonstrators after they blocked Interstate Highway 80 in Emeryville.

Berkeley police said they have arrested a total of 27 people so far, including 21 men, 4 women and two juveniles. Of those arrested, 19 were from cities outside of Berkeley including Oakland, San Francisco and Richmond.

The most common charges have been resisting arrest or failure to disperse, but three were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, three with battery against an officer and two with weapons charges, police said.

Oakland police estimated the Wednesday night crowd at around 150 to 175 people.